Autistic Boy Memorises Al-Quran In Four Months

By Mohd Afiq Zulikfli 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- Every day without fail, Ahmad Ziyyad Mohd Zahir would recite the Quran in the quiet of his family's rented home in Bukit Payong, Marang, Terengganu, undisturbed by gadgets or television.

Four months and 10 days later on March 23, the 10-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of seven, had succeeded in memorising the 30 ‘Juz’ or chapters of the al-Quran, an extraordinary achievement for someone his age. 

His mother Nurul Shahida Lukman, 35, said her son achieved this feat through his participation in a fast-track programme conducted by  Akademi al-Quran Amalillah, a tahfiz institution in Marang.  

She said Ahmad Ziyyad, the eldest of three children, had shown an interest in the al-Quran since he was a baby. By the age of two years and eight months, he had already memorised 42 verses, just by listening to the recitations.

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“I first noticed that Abe Yadd (Ahmad Ziyyad) had an interest in the al-Quran when he was a baby… I  often lulled him to sleep with Quranic recitations. I remember reciting ‘Surah al-Kahfi’ to him when he was eight months old."

"Should I forget a sentence while reciting, he would cry as if wanting me to start again from the beginning. Only then would he stop crying and fall asleep. That was how his memorisation process began," she said.

Determined to give their child the best opportunity, last year Nurul Shahida and her husband Mohd Zahir Mohammad Noor Sabri, 38, temporarily moved from their hometown Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to Marang so that Ahmad Ziyyad could attend Akademi al-Quran Amalillah daily.

Nurul Shahida said earlier her son studied at Sekolah Rendah Integrasi Teras Islam (SRITI) Al-Fateh in Kota Bharu but due to its packed school schedule, his al-Quran memorisation slowed down.

“So we started searching for a fast-track programme and discovered Akademi al-Quran Amalillah.

"At that time (2024), the academy only accepted students aged 10 to 15. But by Allah’s will, my son was accepted at the age of nine because he could memorise several verses in just 10 minutes, whereas most students take much longer to do so," she said, adding her son has now returned to continue his education at SRITI Al-Fateh.

She added that Ahmad Ziyyad has hyperlexia and hypernumeracy, traits commonly associated with the autism spectrum. Hyperlexia refers to an advanced ability to read while hypernumeracy is the extraordinary aptitude for understanding numbers and numerical concepts.

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“Sometimes his emotions are unstable and he cries easily but after he stops crying, he would resume his memorisation and do it better. I keep him company every night, playing audio (recordings) of the al-Quran and making sure he memorises three to five pages," said the full-time homemaker.

Nurul Shahida added that what makes her and her husband most proud as parents is not just their son’s memorising skills but the positive changes in his behaviour.

"Abe Yadd is more mindful of his behaviour and performs his prayers on time without being told. 

“In terms of his emotions as an autistic child, he is now more stable and he behaves like any other typical child. We see that he is maturing and becoming a great role model for his younger siblings," she said.

Meanwhile, Nurfatihar Riduan, a teacher at Akademi al-Quran Amalillah, said Ahmad Ziyyad was an exceptional young pupil who could memorise a page of the al-Quran in as little as 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the complexity of the verses.

"Ahmad Ziyyad is very focused and serious about meeting his daily memorisation goals. On certain days, he can recite an entire chapter in one day.

"What stands out the most is Ahmad Ziyyad’s own extraordinary determination, along with the tremendous support from his parents who were willing to relocate from Kelantan to Terengganu just to help him fulfill his mission to memorise the al-Quran," she said.

-- BERNAMA